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discovery of oil or natural gas under the leases is very slight. Dry wells <br /> <br />have been drilled to Dakota sandstone a few miles to the southwest - northwest <br />and east of the permit area (Figure III.A-1). <br />The main coal seams in the Hawk's Nest Mine Leases occur in the Mesa <br />Verde formation. The sedimentary strata in this formation lay relatively <br />flat, with a regional dip of 3.5 degrees north-northeast. Local dips of up <br />to 6.25 degrees have been located. A brief description of the stratigraphic <br />features of the Mesa Verde formation in relation to the coal reserves of the <br />Hawk's Nest Mine Leases is given below. <br />The Ftesa Verde formation is about 2,500 feet thick and is divided into <br />• <br />four members (Figure III.B.I) in ascending order: <br />1. The Rollins Sandstone Member <br />2. The Lower Coal Member (Bowie Member) <br />3. The Upper Coal Member (Paonia Member) <br />4. The Barren Member <br />The nomenclature used here follows that of Johnson (1948), except as noted. <br />The Rollins Sandstone is a conspicuous cliff-forming white to buff <br />sandstone, 150 to 200 feet thick. It forms the transition from the open <br />marine Mancos shale to the mixed marine/continental coal-bearing part of the <br />Mesa Verde. Borings, especially Ophiomorpha, are common in the upper part. <br />This is a regressive sand becoming generally more massive and coarser-grained <br />upward. <br />In the vicinity of the Hawk's Nest Mine, the Lower Coal Member (Bowie <br />u <br />Member) consists of approximately 270 feet of marine to lower delta plain <br />sediments. Four correlated coals are present in the bottom 100 feet on this <br />member, three of which are mineable. In ascending order: <br />26 <br />